Have you ever wanted to know what it felt like to be your own boss, even if it was on a small scale? Well how about on a micro-scale?! Starting a small business can be quite a complex process if you have no formal business education, but there is actually a smaller scale of business that anybody can start, and some may not even realize they have, called the micro-business! Why should you care? Well, some people like to say go big or go home, but you may agree that it’s always a safer to start at home then go as big as you wish from there. Did you know UPS was started by a couple teenagers who delivered telegrams via bicycle?

Nearly everybody who understands anything about economics has an idea of what a small business is. A small business is a business with less than five hundred employees and is usually overseen by the owner. Small businesses are the mom and pop shops, car garages/gas stations, consignment stores, thrift shops, farmers markets, and local stores you see in your town. Traditionally, small businesses have a legal structure similar to big corporations. Most may require a significant start-up cost to get the motor running, and aren’t exactly on the fast track. A small business usually is its own entity, owning its own bank account, real estate, inventory, etc. In contrast this makes a small business an asset for the owner to sell, trade, lease, expand, etc., etc. To jump into the small business world it requires you to do a substantial amount of homework, including paperwork like preparing a formal business plan, any grants, legal documentation, income and expense sheets, ledgers, etc., etc., etc. Whew, no wonder people settle for hourly jobs! Where do you find the time to actually get down to business with all this homework that needs to get done?

What you may not realize is that small businesses are a stepping stone from a smaller more experimental form of business called the micro-business. The micro-business is usually a direct service or product offered by an individual with very a primitive if any structure aside from a method of payment. Micro-businesses may also be referred to as gigs. The start-up cost for a micro business is typically less than a hundred dollars, and could even be started at no cost at all! A micro-business has no brand name, logos, or trademarks. You are your business, and that’s why some micro-business owners don’t even realize they’re in business. A micro-business could be mowing lawns, passing out flyers, a writer, a flea market, chauffer, car wash, an artist, and more, almost anything you can think of can be started on a micro-scale in some form. Starting at a micro-business scale is a great way to try a multitude of your businesses ideas in a short amount of time to see which one sticks. It’s also a great way to receive a head start for your business by gaining some clientele, a following, subscribers, or some regular customers before you decide to make the leap into the highly competitive small business world.

So if you want to be a small business boss that contributes to your local community’s economy, than you are an individual willing to get the education needed, do your homework, and plan accordingly before getting down to business. You may have money to invest in start-up costs or have resources to aid you. You may have the extra time to pamper your business during its early stages. If you want to be a micro-business boss who works under the radar of the local competition, than you are willing to build close relationships with regular customers/clients, take full personal responsibility for your actions of how you conduct your business, and put your own name on the line. You may only have time to work gigs here and there, as your schedule allows. You may want to experiment with a bundle of business ideas before committing, because you may not have much money to invest in a formal start-up. No matter your schedule or amount of funds, there is a level of business for every aspiring entrepreneur to become a self-employed boss at.